Best PlacesFalls of Neuse, Raleigh, NC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Falls of Neuse, Raleigh, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Falls of Neuse, Raleigh ranks 1,379th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state finances by a wide margin, and the weather ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Falls of Neuse, Raleigh
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
Falls of Neuse, Raleigh's strengths and weaknesses
Where Falls of Neuse, Raleigh ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 94% of neighborhoods
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 93% of neighborhoods
- Internet speedBetter than 90% of neighborhoods
- Tree shadeBetter than 88% of neighborhoods
- Voter turnoutBetter than 85% of neighborhoods
Where Falls of Neuse, Raleigh ranks low
- Nice weatherabout 57 pleasant days a year, better than only 3% of neighborhoods
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 10% of neighborhoods
- Cell coverageBetter than only 11% of neighborhoods
- Low vacancyBetter than only 20% of neighborhoods
- Big-city accessBetter than only 23% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Falls of Neuse, Raleigh
A household needs to earn about $135,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Falls of Neuse, Raleigh home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $98,743, so buying stretches a typical household.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses Falls of Neuse, Raleigh's effective rate of 0.62%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Falls of Neuse, Raleigh
Falls of Neuse, Raleigh's age mix sits close to the national median, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Falls of Neuse, Raleigh.
Who works in Falls of Neuse, Raleigh, and how
Work in Falls of Neuse, Raleigh centers on professional & technical and finance & insurance. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 66%
- Work from home 26%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in Falls of Neuse, Raleigh
Falls of Neuse, Raleigh has more restaurants and bars per resident than 85% of neighborhoods. That concentrates in some parts of Falls of Neuse, Raleigh and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Falls of Neuse, Raleigh, month by month
Falls of Neuse, Raleigh sees roughly 57 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 94 degrees. January highs sit near 56, with lows near 31. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 56° | 43° | 31° |
| April | 77° | 62° | 48° |
| July | 94° | 81° | 71° |
| October | 77° | 63° | 51° |
Flying in and out of Falls of Neuse, Raleigh
Raleigh-Durham International sits about 9 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 7.7 million passengers in 2025, with 128 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Falls of Neuse, Raleigh
Schools across Falls of Neuse, Raleigh average a B+, better than 84% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Joyner ElementaryA− · 62% proficient
- Douglas ElementaryB− · 44% proficient
- Baileywick Road ElementaryC · 33% proficient
Top middle schools
- Oberlin MiddleA · 64% proficient
- West Millbrook MiddleA− · 55% proficient
- Carroll MiddleB · 44% proficient
Top high schools
- Vernon Malone College And Career AcademyA · 77% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Falls of Neuse, Raleigh school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Falls of Neuse, Raleigh measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare Falls of Neuse, Raleigh against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Falls of Neuse, Raleigh
Is Falls of Neuse, Raleigh a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Falls of Neuse, Raleigh ranks 1,379th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on state finances, cheap car insurance, and fast internet, and lowest on the weather and an overheated housing market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Falls of Neuse, Raleigh expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $531,086. The overall cost of living runs about 4% below the national average. Set against a $98,743 median income, cost of living beats 81% of neighborhoods.
Is Falls of Neuse, Raleigh safe?
Falls of Neuse, Raleigh is safer than 49% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $571 per resident a year.
Compare Falls of Neuse, Raleigh with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Falls of Neuse, Raleigh. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Falls of Neuse, Raleigh represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
Falls of Neuse, Raleigh detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Falls of Neuse, Raleigh: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Falls of Neuse, Raleigh: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Falls of Neuse, Raleigh: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Falls of Neuse, Raleigh: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Falls of Neuse, Raleigh detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.